Found this site on line. Has anyone ever used any of these guys and do they save you money. £260 for an RP23 at current exchange rate with free shipping (OK will take a few weeks to deliver) but all seems good to me. Are there hidden catches??

http://www.jensonusa.com/

VAT at 15%

import duty at about 3%

Royal mail surcharge £15

no waranty

i did it when the exchange rate was 2.1:1 but not realy worth it any more.

To be honest I thought as much.

So looks like it would cost me about 320 which is what you can buy it for here. Surely with parts like Fox the waranty is international?

Surely with parts like Fox the waranty is international

not necessarily… Fox UK might, as a goodwill gesture, do something for you, but it would prob have to go back to fox usa. after all, Fox uk didn’t make any money on what you bought as you circumnavigated them.

Import tax on Bike Components is 4.7%

Import tax on Bikes (whole or most thereof) is 14%

Many large MTB now dont warranty ‘grey’ imports that havent come through uk distribution.

effectively its like buying secondhand or nealry new stuff, its as good as new, but with no warrenty.

Does anyone know what happens if you break a bike on holliday, say i went to work in OZ (fair chance) for a 9-10 months, and took a bike, and my cranks snapped (unlikely), would shimano have to do anything about it?

your warranty rights would be the same, and would be reliant on the shop you bought it from and your proof of purchase from them. so you’d have to send it back there to be handled.